Transfer Student
by LilyFragrance
Summary: Crystal Clearwater never did a single thing to deserve the troubles she was going through, ranging from family, friend, and school troubles. It doesn't help when the troublemaker Gold sets his eyes on her. What sort of troubles will he drag her into now?
1. Prologue

**Yeah... Another fanfiction. And if anyone notices that my fanfictions are mostly sad-ish, I'll just say that most 'sad plots' turn out to be the best ones - to me, that is.**

_**Disclaimer: Fan-chan does not own PokeSpe!**_

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_**Crystal's P.O.V.**_

It's truthfully shocking how all this happened within a week. It absolutely devastated me, and it still does. Hence, the reason why I'm in my washroom right now, a small pocket knife in my right hand, and my left wrist with a fresh cut, blood oozing out of it.

Sorry. You must be confused. Let me start the story from the top. It all started just on Sunday - my favourite day because it was the day where I could do what I wanted to do the most: help the kids at the Daycare.

* * *

"Thanks for coming today, Crystal!" the Daycare Owner thanked me as I left the Daycare.

"You're welcome, Mrs. Popple!" I replied, and left.

The sun was still high and grand in the sky as I walked home, but close to setting. The beautiful hues of orange, red, purple, and blue still had not appeared yet. Not even the slightest. My house wasn't too far away from the Daycare, and it was just a short five-minute walk there and back. Soon enough, I was at home.

I opened the door, ready to be greeted by my mom, as usual. However, nothing happened as I'd thought it'd be.

My parents were both arguing like no tomorrow, broken bits of nearly _everything_ were sprawled on the floor, as if they had been trying to kill each other, and there were a few noticable traces of blood on the floor. Not too much, but there was definitely some blood.

"What's the matter with _me_?" came Mom's shriek from in the kitchen. "More like what's the matter with _you_!"

"No!" Dad roared. "_I'm _the _sane_ one! You're the _in_sane one! There's a difference!"

Being careful not to step on any shards of broken things on the floor, I quietly went to the kitchen to see what was going on. What I saw really shocked me. Mom and Dad were standing in the middle of the kitchen, bruised, cut with some blood dripping out of the injuries, and arguing. It seemed like they had a huge fight while I was at the Daycare.

"_Ugh!_" Mom stomped her foot. "_You_, as we all know it, are the most _horrible_ man! How dare you have an affair behind my - your wife's - back?"

"Ha," Dad snorted. "Like you can say that to _me. _You're no better."

Not wanting to listen to anymore of this argument they were both having, I finally spoke up.

"_Mom - Dad_," I said firmly, despite my nervousness (this was the first time I interrupted my parents' conversations, much less a fight). "What happened? _Everything_ is broken in dangerous shards, and you're both injured and arguing! Right after I come back from the Daycare, too!"

"Sorry, Crys." Dad closed his eyes for a brief second. "I'm afraid this isn't something you needed to see."

Mom sighed. "I agree. We can continue this argument just a _tad_ bit later-" she gritted her teeth while saying that "-but for now, I suppose we have to, don't we?"

Dad silently agreed, and then I suddenly knew no more.

When I woke up again, perhaps an hour later, I was in my room, tucked into bed like a child. I climbed off of my bed, and tried to open the door. However, I found no avail to it because it was locked on the other side.

I tried to knock on the door and ask for someone to help me. That didn't work as well as I'd planned. And then I tried to kick the door. Again, that didn't work out. It was like it was reinforced with something hard! Then, it hit me. I could ask Parasee to make up an acidic mixture to disinigrate the door.

I grabbed Parasee's pokeball, released him out, and asked him to make the acidic mix. As this was my final idea, I prayed that it'd work to Arceus.

"Para! Para-site!" Parasee said, informing me the mix was ready.

"Okay," I said. "Can you aim the acid at the door, please? Not too much is needed, though."

Parasee nodded, and then sprayed some of his strong acid mix at the door. The bits of the door which the acid mixture touched was disinigrated, and there was an opening for me to get out of my room.

"Thanks, Parasee," I said, getting his pokeball out once again and calling him back. "You deserve a break. You used a lot of energy to make the acid, afterall."

I climbed through the door and quietly, but carefully, made my way downstairs. It was dead-quiet. I made my way down the stairs a bit more, and peaked through a small square in the wall (there were a few of them so that vases or something could be put into them, decorating the staircase a bit, but they were quite useful to spy with, too). It was as if I had a nightmare. Why? Well, because everything was all in their places, neat and organized. The floor had no bloodstains and there were no shards or bits of 'everything' on the floor. I reluctantly walked into the kitchen, bracing myself for what I was to see.

Instead of what I imagined the kitchen to be (a living hell), everything was neat and in order. Maybe it really was a nightmare? Though if the fight I witnessed between my parents really was a nightmare, then why weren't they here, at home?

I checked the clock on the kitchen counter. It said it was seven P.M. Okay, so that was enough proof that it wasn't a nightmare, because I went to the daycare at eight A.M. By the time I returned home, it was about five P.M. And I witnessed the fight for about ten minutes. After that, I somehow fell asleep?

There was the chance Mom or Dad used one of their pokemon to put Sleep Powder on me. But what happened during the rest of the time which I was asleep? Did something else happen? Were they still fighting? There were so many questions I had, but nobody was here to answer them for me.

The door opened, revealing Mom and Dad. I marched out of the kitchen, and walked straight to the Living Room, where the entrance of the house was located.

"Where were you two?" I demanded, which was something I never did. Most of the time. "What happened in the two hours I was asleep? How did you clean the mess so fast?"

Dad pursed his lips, and went up to Mom and his room, leaving Mom to answer all my questions.

"Sorry, Crys," Mom sighed. "I'm not answering most of your questions, but I'll answer this: Your dad and I are now divorced. We decided that you're going to be living with me. Your dad will be moving out tomorrow. Already bought a house for him a few towns away."

With that question answered and done, she went up to her room. _Yes. It's _her_ room now_, I added bitterly. _Hers. Not Dad and hers anymore._

* * *

That was one of the things that happened. Soon after my dad moved to his new home, I got into a fight with one of my closest friends.

I was sitting at the usual meeting spot that my friends and I all met at during lunch. It was under a willow tree, and felt great when the weather was warmer.

Julia, one of my best friends, arrived first. Then, she suddenly burst out, "Crys! How could you do that?"

I was confused. What did I do?

"What do you mean? Did I do anything wrong?" I asked, thoroughly showing confusion.

"Huh." It was Julia's turn to be confused. "Wait, you don't know? Then maybe Violet mistook you for someone else..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Please enlighten me?"

"Well, yesterday, Violet saw someone's arcanine attack someone. Because you're the only one we know who owns an arcanine, she thought it was you."

Suddenly, Violet was stomping towards us. "_Crys_! I cannot believe you'd attack an innocent person with your Arcanine!"

This time, I was half-confused. The other half of me was mad. They were my best friends, yet they would accuse me without any proof?

"Violet, it wasn't her," Julia reasoned. "She didn't even know anything about it."

"Oh, is that so?" Violet asked, mocking Julia's tone. "I happened to _see_ that it was Crys, thank you very much. I _saw_ her order her Arcanine attack that innocent passerby."

"First of all," I said in my business-like tone. "I didn't bring _any_ of my pokemon to school yesterday. They were all at home."

"Yeah... That's true, you know, Violet?" Julia agreed.

"Hmph. That's not enough proof, though." Violet huffed.

"And second of all, what were the _exact_ words that the person told the Arcanine?" I asked.

"Huh. Well, _you_ commanded, '_Arcanine! Use Flamethrower on him!_'."

"There you have it," I said. "All the proof you need that it wasn't me."

Violet and Julia both had a '_what?_' expression on their faces, but Julia quickly caught on.

"Of course! Crys _always_ nicknames her pokemon," Julia explained. "They never listen to her when she uses any other names. And she calls her Arcanine '_Arckee_'. Not _Arcanine_."

Violet raised her brows, disbelieving. "Yeah? So what? Anyone could do that, and teach their pokemon how to listen to both names. Pokemon can act."

"But Violet," Julia reasoned once again. "Do you really believe Crys would do such a thing? I mean, we've all known each other for years. Plus, there wasn't any news about an assault on anyone this morning in the newspaper or the news."

Violet 'hmph''ed, and then stomped away. I felt betrayed. Did she really believe I'd do that?

"Don't worry, Crys." Julia reassured me. "She'll regain herself soon..."

However, Julia was wrong. Nothing went right after that. Violet started a 'Crystal Clearwater is Such a Nerd' club, which was disbanded by the teachers, but still had secret meetings elsewhere. She spread rumours which were all made up of lies. She made everyone go against me. Except for Julia. She stayed by my side, and she still does.

* * *

There's also my grades... They've went down from 120 percent to 49 percent. My life is in ruins now. I won't be able to get to a good university. Much less a decent one.

So that's why my left wrist is bloody right now. I readied my left hand with the small knife in front of my right wrist. I inhaled a breath of air, and then cut my right wrist. The blade cut open the tender white skin and blood began oozing out of the cut. There wasn't too much blood on the washroom floor, and it could be cleaned easily - my Mom didn't need to know I was cutting myself. And I could hide the cuts with wristbands.

I heard footsteps coming in my direction and quickly wrapped my wrists up with plenty of layers of toilet paper, and then cleaned up the bloody mess - Mom didn't need to find out about me cutting myself. Plus, it was hard to clean up blood when it was dry.

After cleaning up, my toilet paper bandages were completely soaked in blood. I sighed, replaced them with some fresher toilet paper, and grabbed the medical kit along with two black wristbands that were big enough to hide my cuts without any problems.

I opened the medical kit and cleaned the cuts decently with alcohol (that really stung) and some polysporin. After that, I took some _real_ bandages out of the medical kit and wrapped my wrists up firmly. Then, after tying the bandages up, I put on my wristbands and hid everything else.

I didn't feel sick or anything as I left the washroom, but I felt like my skin was probaly too pale from the blood loss. Maybe some food could help, or maybe I should rest... but neither seemed to be a good idea. They made me uncomfortable in the weirdest way.

"Crys, you look really pale," Mom said, passing by me in the hallway.

"I'm alright, Mom," I smiled to her in reassurance. I was lying, but it wasn't like she could do much to help.

"Oh, okay."

I went to my room immediately after that. I shut the door, and jumped into my bed. Hopefully, I could get some sleep this time... The previous days, I haven't been able to sleep...

_Zzz..._

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**Er, so, uh, how was it? Yes, Crys may be a bit OOC, but that's 'cause of the hardships she's going through. Please review!**


	2. The First Day with the Transfer Student

**Okay. Second chapter. Enjoy!**

_**Disclaimer: Fan-chan does not own PokeSpe!**_

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_**Crystal's P.O.V.**_

I woke up with a start. My alarm clock was ringing loudly, and my stomach grumbling. That's right. I probaly slept past dinner last night.

I turned off the alarm and rushed off to the washroom, grabbing my school uniform along the way.

After brushing my teeth and changing into my uniform along with tying my signature pigtails and wearing my wristbands (I did have to hide my bandages), I went downstairs to the kitchen. Mom wasn't there, but my breakfast was on the counter, wrapped up and a sticky note attached. My stomach not wanting to wait any longer, I walked over to the plate and read the sticky note.

_Sorry, Crys! I've a important business call to attend to. You missed dinner last night. Here's something I whipped up for you..._

_-Mom_

I sighed, and unwrapped the plate. On the plate was some mashed potatoes, greens, eggs, and some rice. Checking the time (seven A.M.), I still had about ten minutes, so I ate it without a word, and cleaned the plate. After that, I left the house with my backpack and everything, and then locked the door.

The walk to school was quite boring. Although I wasn't looking forward to the day - due to the fact of Violet - I felt bored. The two cuts on my wrists didn't exactly do much, either. They stung a bit whenever I touched them, but they stopped bleeding since sometime I fell asleep last night.

"Hey, Crys!" Julia greeted me as she ran towards me.

"Hey Julia," I replied, smiling.

"You alright? You're a bit pale."

"Huh? Really? Maybe I didn't get enough sleep," I lied. I slept for probaly over twelve hours. There was no way that wasn't enough sleep.

"Oh. Good point," she agreed.

It was lucky that Julia happened to believe nearly everything if it was true-sounding enough.

"So, how was your weekends?" she asked.

"Great," I said. I was _partially_ lying on that part... so I didn't feel too guilty. "What about you?"

"Wonderful," she said. "I had a blast beating up my cousins when they challenged me in a battle at Karate."

Oh yeah. Julia did karate at the Azalea City Karate Dojo. I think she was a black-belt.

"Really?" I tried to sound interested. "What belt are they, anyways?"

"White belt," Julia sighed. "They're such dopes. They thought they could beat me. I think I've destroyed a good deal of their overly-inflated ego and every bit of their dignity."

I laughed. "Oh, look. We've already arrived at school." I sighed. "I'm not looking forward to this..."

"Don't worry, Crys!" Julia said. "If Violet tries anything, this time I'm gonna karate 'em!"

"Thanks, but there's no need to get a suspension for me," I said. "It's not worth it."

She snorted. "Yeah, that's what you think. Crys, you're a genius at everything, and you're a pro at catching pokemon. Violet can never beat you even until her death."

"I guess." My voice was coated with layers of doubt. "But I wonder why she suddenly is against me."

"Yeah, makes me wonder if something happened," I wondered.

"Yeah..."

The school bell rang, signalling that it was about time we had to get to our classes soon.

"Well, see you at lunch," I said, and then ran to my locker.

When I got to class, the teacher wasn't there yet. Thank Arceus, because I swear that I was late by 5.6 seconds. I went to my seat, and sat down, waiting for the teacher.

"Have you heard yet? Apparently there's a transfer from New Bark Town, and he's a total hottie! Single, too!" a girl not too far away from me gushed to her friend.

"Oh my Arceus," her friend swore. "Really? I gotta check him out."

I ignored them and took out a book I recently got interested in: '_The Mythology of the World_'. It was interesting, and at the same time explained plenty about history.

"Okay, class," the teacher, Ms. Asherson, said. "Quiet down. I've got an announcement to make."

I quickly put away the book in my bag, and looked up at Ms. Asherson. Everyone suddenly sat down and quieted.

"Okay. Today we've got a transfer student from New Bark Town. Please come in."

The door opened and a boy with what I would describe as 'exploding bangs' under a gold and black cap came in. He kept his blazer unbuttoned, tied his tie very loosely, and kept the first few buttons near his collar undone. How unruly.

"Oh. My. Freaking. Arceus." the girl who gushed on about the transfer student muttered. "_Total_ hottie!"

"Ahem, Ms. Rose," Ms. Asherson interrupted. "I believe you should keep your mouth shut, thank you very much. Anyways, introduce yourself," she said to the transfer student.

"Yo!" the transfer student greeted. "The name's Gold Hibiki! Don't wear it out." He grinned as if he achieved an impossible feat.

Basically all the girls in my class (except for me) swooned and one nearly fainted when he grinned.

"Yes, yes," Ms. Asherson said. "Gold, you will be sitting next to Crystal Clearwater there-" she pointed at the empty seat next to me. "You two will be partners."

He shrugged, and then went to sit down on the seat next to mine.

"Nice to meet you." He winked flirtatiously at me. "_Cryssie_."

A vain popped by my forehead. "Please call me _Crystal_, thank you."

"Okay, _Crystal_." He emphasized my name.

I could feel the pressure of being glared at by every single girl in the class. Uh-oh. Looks like I've made more enemies without trying...

"First off, we're starting with Math today." Ms. Asherson said. "Please take out your duotangs. Mr. Hibiki, I expect you to have a duotang already."

"Nope." Gold said. "Not at all."

"Ms. Clearwater, please lend him one."

"Okay," I sighed, taking out a spare duotang for him, thinking, _This is going to be a long day..._

When it was finally lunchtime, I grabbed my lunchbox and went to the place that Julia and I met at - with Gold stalking me like the flirter he was.

"Will you stop stalking me?" I asked him, annoyed.

"I don't know my way around though," he complained. "Plus, I don't have any friends. You're my partner."

"Trust me. There are a _lot_ of people who'd love to become friends with you," I said. "Namely, a majority of these girls here."

As if to prove my point, a group of girls whom we passed by pointed at Gold, and blushed and giggled.

"Oh? But what if I dont _want_ to be friends with them? What if I want to be with _you_ and only you?" Gold insisted, raising an eyebrow. "Really. You're always so serious..."

"Am not!"

"Hm... Let's see... Oh, yeah!" he pointed a finger at me. "You're to be nicknamed Super-Serious Gal from now on!"

He grinned as if he made some huge achievement as the information slowly sunk into my mind.

"Hey! That's disrespectful!" I could feel my cheeks turning a slight pink. "Don't call me that!"

"Heh." Gold rubbed his nose. "Too bad, 'cause I betcha that I'm older than ya."

Ugh! How immature! Using age to gain the right of bossing me around!  
"What's your birthday, then?" I asked. "Mine is April 30th."

He gulped. "July 21st..."

So I was about four months older than him. Serves him for being cocky.

"Looks like _I'm_ the older one. One thing you _can't_ use against me." I smiled in triumph, and then ran to the roof - the place where Julia and I planned to meet. The one place where Violet and her gang never expected us to be.

As I ran there, I soon heard the sounds of someone following me on the cement ground. I turned around, and realized Gold was chasing after me with a scooter!

"Hey! That's against school rules to bring scooters to school!" I cried. "It's _absolutely_ unallowed!"

"Hey, I'm new here!" he barked. "Therefore I know none of the rules."

I groaned, and finally said, "Will you stop following me? I have friends, you know."

Before he could say a thing, I quickly escaped to the roof via emergency stairs. It'd take a while for him to climb those stairs while dragging a scooter, so it was a great plan. Plus, he seemed to be one of those slow runners.

"Hey, Crys," Julia greeted me as I pushed open the door. "What took you so long? I'm already halfway done my egg sandwich."

I sighed. "Sorry. New _male_ classmate is my partner, and he keeps on stalking me everywhere like a pervert."

"Ah."

Julia grabbed a roll out of her lunchbox, and buttered it with a tiny bit of butter.

"So, he still stalking you right now?" she asked, biting a tiny piece off the roll.

"Yeah. I think he went up the stairs. But he has a scooter with him, so yeah." I took out my container, and opened it, grabbing a fork. I stabbed the spaghetti in the container with my fork, twisted it, and stuffed it in my mouth. "By the time he reaches the roof, I hope we're already gone."

As if Arceus hated me, the door of the emergency exit burst open with Gold being the one whom was at the exit. Great. A wonderful lunch just ruined.

"Wow, you must've done something to anger Arceus," Julia joked, nodding towards Gold. "'Cause you seem to be unbearably unlucky today."

She chomped the last bite of her roll, swallowed, and stood up, picking up her lunchbox. "Well, I'm going to go now. I have to finish researching on the Gaea region. But I don't get why we have to learn about a region that supposedly sunk into the ocean. For all we know, it could be a fake."

With that, she left. Leaving Gold and I together. Gold sat next to me, and pulled a sandwich - his lunch - from his pocket. Chewing a bit of his sandwich, he asked me, "So, why're you wearing wristbands? Some type of fashion style here in Azalea Town?"

Typical New Barker, I guess. That's, uh, the term everyone in Azalea Town uses to call someone from New Bark Town - a New Barker. Though I guess it could be used as a pun...

"No." I tried to cover my wristbands with my long-sleeved school uniform, but it still showed a bit of the wristbands. "It's just my own... 'fashion' choice."

_More like my cover in hiding my cuts_, I thought.

"Hey, let me see your wrists for a second," Gold said, reaching his hand out towards my right wrist.

"No!" I quickly pulled away my right wrist from his hand.

"Why?"

"Because."

"_Because?_"

"Because it's none of your business."

"Fine." He made a childish face, unpleased he couldn't do what he wanted to.

We ate our lunches in silence. I was just glad that he didn't see my cuts. If he did, he would've done something for sure. But for now, I think it'd be better off to hide whatever secrets I can from him. Gold's way too nosy into other peoples' business.

After lunch was over, we returned to Ms. Asherson's class. Gold seemed to be more on task rather than flirting with me, which really quite scared me, and also acted more... _responsible_. I dislike Gold, even though I knew him since this morning, but this was too unusual. Spending a few hours with him really rubs off on anyone. And the sheer fact that he's being _responsible_ is a good hint that the world's going to end soon. Yay.

"Crossword puzzle?" I looked at the sheet Ms. Asherson handed to all of us. It was a crossword puzzle, which was apparently was our Science work to do.

"Crystal, what's the answer number seventeen?" Gold asked me, his voice firm and... just _weird_.

I looked at the hints section... number seventeen... __ equals mass times acceleration_. That was simple. Force obviously equals mass times acceleration.

"You don't know?" I asked, mildly surprised.

"Well, forgive Arceus's fine arse for me not knowing."

Wow. He must be unhappy still.

"No need to be so rude. Sheesh," I said. "Force. The answer's force."

"Thanks."

By the time school was over, I could tell that he was still mad. Truthfully, I don't get what made him so mad. But then again, it's _his_ fault for being so nosy.

For sure, Arceus just wants to make my life harder. I can just imagine it. Right now, Arceus laughing his humungously jolly happy arse off on his oh-so magnificent throne of platinum and gold incrusted with precious glimmering gemstones. I swear, if I were to ever capture him or her, I'd _commanding_ him/her to actually give me a day where nothing went wrong!

* * *

**Okay. A bit OOC once again, hopefully it wasn't too 'fast paced', and it was enjoyable. Sayonara for now! Please review!**


	3. Is He Stalking Me?

When I got home, I had science homework. Usually I finished all of my homework in school, but Gold kept on asking me so many questions I barely had time to do my own. What surprised me was that he needed help for a majority of the questions, even though Ms. Asherson gave us chemistry homework that was just barely hard enough to be able to be compared to third-grade math. That made me wonder: how low was Gold's IQ?

As I finished answering the last question, I noticed a little flash from just somewhere outside my window. I raised my head up, and caught a glimpse of a silhouette wearing some form of flowing cape. Who wore capes nowadays, anyways?

_What was that?_ I asked myself, _Don't tell me whoever-that-was took a picture of me... Maybe it's just me..._

With nothing left to do, I simply put away my finished science homework into my binder, and lied down on my bed. My six pokeballs were all neatly lined up in rows of two on my desk. My desk was just next to my bed, so all my pokemon were technically staring at me, giving me a look of, _What are we supposed to do right now? We're bored! _

I sighed, and merely shrugged. Right now would be a horrible time to go train, as it's four o'clock. Truthfully, I had nothing left to do. I already took a shower when I got home, did my homework, double-checked my homework, studied everything, and everything possible, really. Of course, I could always cook some dinner, but that was something mom least wanted me to do, because it was her job.

The phone started ringing, and seeing as mom wasn't home yet, I walked to the hallway and picked it up.

"Hello?" I said. "May I know who's calling?"

"Yo! You should know who's calling, Cryssie!"

"Gold," I greeted. "Why are you phoning me? And how on earth did you get my phone number?"

"I searched you up."

"Great. Now I wonder: _where_ did you search me up?" I raised my brow. "Anyways, let's get to the point: why are you phoning me?"

"What? I can't phone my darling Cryssie?"

"Ugh, Gold, don't even dare call me that again."

"Why? Don't you like me calling you that?"

"Of course not. Why else would I be telling you to not call me that? ...Don't even answer that question."

"Fine, _Crystal_."

"Now why are you phoning me?"

"I just want to, well, apologize about earlier today," Gold said. "For my childishness, I guess."

"About the homework questions or not letting you see my wrists?" I asked. "I mean, _both_ situations were somewhat childish..."

"_Hey!_" he exclaimed. "Asking you for help was _NOT_ childish! I just didn't understand anything!"

"Mm-hmm. I'll just keep believing that..."

"Hey!" he growled. "That's mean! And I apologized!"

"... I'm sorry," I sighed. "Really. And is that all?"

There was a pause. "Yes..."

"Okay, then. I'll hang up now..." I said. "Bye."

And without waiting for his reply, I hung up. Okay, I admit I felt undeniably guilty after, but what was done was done. I could always apologize at school tomorrow...

The phone rang again, and, seeing as I was still the only one at home (and right next to the phone), I picked it up.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hello, _Crystal_," sneered the person on the line. I could tell who it was immediately. _Violet._

"Yes, _hello, Violet_," I greeted with high displeasure. In fact, I could've faintly hear Violet gulp. Was she afraid of me or something? Nah. That wasn't possible. "What do _you_ want? I don't suppose you'd have _anything_ you'd want to do with the likes of me."

"Damn right I don't," she growled, "or more like, I _wished_ I didn't. You nerd. Stay _away_ from Gold Hibiki."

I huffed. "Firstly, he's my study partner. I kind of _can't_ stay away from him because of that. Secondly, it's not my choice if he wants to follow me around. It's his own decision. Another thing, Violet: I don't have a crush or anything on Gold. Got it?|

She was silent for a moment, and then said, "Uh-huh. Betcha did some type of hypnosis technique on him, didn't you? Sick and twisted; two words that match you perfectly. Daughter of the devil, that's what you are. Bewitch some other low-class scum like you so you can leave the God of Hotness himself: Gold Hibiki." Her voice said Gold's name dreamily, as if she were thinking of disgusting fangirl fantasies (which, she probaly was.)

"Violet, if you're going to annoy me via telephone, don't even bother spending your time to. I don't know why you suddenly hate me, but you don't see me bothering you 24/7. Goodbye."

"I'll spread rumours throughout the whole school about you!" she threatened. "Don't even dare try do anything with Gold Hibiki! You motherfu—"

But she never finished her sentence, as I promptly slammed the phone on the charger. Hopefully, she'd never phone me ever again. Better yet, maybe my phone slam made her half-deaf, if possible.

"Crys, honey, I'm home!" Mom yelled from the doorway downstairs.

"Mom, I can hear you perfectly fine without you yelling," I said calmly as I went downstairs.

She ignored my comment. "And guess what, Cryssie? I've got a new boyfriend! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah. It's great, Mom." Another guy she'll most likely dump in the end... or have another fight with. It'd only been a little while since Dad moved out, divorcing with Mom, and she already got another man? I didn't really care about my Mom getting another man. I will never deem anyone else as my "father" except for my biological father. It was simple logic, of course. But, some way or another, my mom _will_ make me call the guy 'Dad' or something.

"He's _such_ a hottie." Mom swooned as she talked. "His name is Davis—not the most awesome name—but he's just _so_ dreamy... He has rich-brown hair, you see? And then his chocolate eyes that just make you seem to melt in them... Ah..."

"Oookay then..." I said, slowly creeping my way upstairs, "uh... well... I think I'll just go... and... well, uh... study for my... upcoming test... that's gonna be tomorrow..."

"Okay, honey," Mom sighed. "I'll tell you more later, then."

"Uh, sure..." I quickly sped off.

_I don't want to know more about your newest boyfried,_ I thought bitterly. _He's probaly the fourth one by now. And it's only been less than a few days since Dad left!_

I rushed to my room and locked the door. I didn't actually have a test, but it was a good enough reason to not have to listen to Mom's endless ramblings about her new so-called "love of her life." She said the exact thing for every other guy she's dumped already, like a moldy piece of bread that stinks like dirty gym shorts. It really made me hate her in quite a few ways. Next thing I knew, she'd get into the Guiness World Record books for having the most amount of ex-boyfriends in the shortest amount of time.

I decided my Pokemon deserved a bit of exercise today, since they'd had nothing to do the whole day. I changed into my training outfit—black shorts with yellow, running shoes, a pink tank-top, a white jacket that stopped just by my ribs, and a yellow skullcap. I clipped the six Poke Balls to my belt, and quietly sneaked my way downstairs. I didn't feel like telling my mom about training, so I silently snuck out of the house. I'd be back in thirty minutes, plenty of time before dinner. She wouldn't know that I was gone at all.

After a respectable amount of nonstop stretching, running, and all sorts of other things, my Pokemon and I were exhausted. Mega was so tired that even her leaf was just lying flat instead of curving upwards in a healthy way.

"Would you guys like some drinks?" I offered. "They're really refreshing. And we still have at least ten minutes of exercise left."

I could hear the most faint groan coming from a few of my teammates, but I pretended to not hear. They were sure out of shape! And they didn't have exercise for only a little while.

"Archa," Arkee said, which I took for _yes_.

"Hey, Cryssi—uh, I mean, _Crystal_," Gold said from behind me.

"Hi Gold," I said without sparing a look, and ran over to the vending machines.

"So, watcha doin'?" he asked, leaning against the foods vending machine right by the drinks one. Trying to look cool.

"I'm exercising and training with my Pokemon," I replied, "so please don't disturb me during my free time."

"Aww, but Crystal..." he pouted, putting on a baby-growlithe eyes. "Can't I watch my partner train...?"

"As much as I'd like to say no, I guess you can. You're not trespassing anyone's territory without permission, as this is a public park. Just don't bother me. And if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're stalking me..." _Are you that person who wore a cape and took a picture of me, or something like that...?_ I wanted to ask, but resisted the urge to do so.

"Yay!"

I sprinted back to my Pokemon with four fresh waters and three lemonades. All of them gratefully accepted the drinks and gulped them down quickly. I watched them as I slowly drank my cool water, which was, without a doubt, incredibly refreshing after a long run... not including the stretching and all.

After we finished our drinks, I disposed of them and we started running again. I could feel Gold's eyes following me everywhere I ran with my Pokemon. Honestly, it was _not _a pleasant feeling.

"Okay, good job, all of you," I congratulated my Pokemon. "We're going home now. You guys all take a rest."

I called them back into their respective Poke Balls, and clipped them to my belt in the order of lowest level to highest level.

"You're done already?" Gold asked, as if disappointed.

"Yes. I'm going home now, if you don't mind," I replied, and went down the stairs to Fairell Street.

"That's seriously too bad," Gold said, frowning. "I enjoyed looking at your butt this whole time. It was enjoyable, I mean, you've got the sexiest butt in the whole wor—"

"_Gold!_" I yelled, face as red as a tomato berry, but not from embarrassment. No, my face was red with none other than _anger_. "You... You... _You_..."

"Hm?" He grinned. "What is it? You going to confess your undying love for me?"

"Arceus no!" I exclaimed. "Not even if the world's going to end if I say no! I don't like you at all, much less _love_"_—_I shuddered at the image in my head—"you! Who'd love, or even _like_, a perverted peeping Tom like you?"

He looked hurt. I suddenly felt guilty, but all of my guilt was washed away as soon as he said, "You really like me, don't you? No worries, Cryssie, we can do _this_ and _that_ anytime we want..."

"I don't _ever_ want to do '_this _and _that_' with you!" I replied angrily.

"But you have already."

"No, I haven't."

"Yeah, you have! We've done homework and studying together before... well, earlier today, anyways," he said.

I was speechless for a moment. I didn't know what to say—for the very least, I was embarrassed. By _this_ and _that_, I thought Gold meant it in the most wrong way possible. No, more like the most _sick_ way possible.

"... Oh, _right_," I said, trying to keep an embarrassed blush away. "Anyways, I've got to go home now... see you tomorrow at school, I suppose. Er... bye."

"Bye," I heard Gold say as I quickly escaped to Fairell Street and out of his view.

* * *

I soundlessly closed my house door and slipped my runners off. My mom was still in the kitchen, and didn't seem to notice I was gone at all. Thank Arceus for that. She probaly would not've cared anyways. I sighed, and ran upstairs, careful to not step on any of the creaky floorboards or make any sound.

The first thing I did was go into the washroom. I was all sticky and smelt somewhat unhygienic from all my sweat.

It was too troublesome to have to seperately bathe all my Pokemon—it wasn't like I didn't care for them. It was just that it added more onto the electricity bill and would make Mom more suspicious.

"Hot or cold water?" I asked my Pokemon, neatly ordering their Poke Balls into a line of six on the sink counter. They all did a gesture, signalling they wanted warm water. Not too hot, not too cold.

I plugged the sink from letting any water go, and started running some warm water. When it was full enough, I put a fine net over the water, and put the Poke Balls onto it. The Poke Balls were half-submerged in the water, so there wasn't that much of a chance for my team to drown... in a sink. They all sighed contently—only a little of the water dripped in, which was enough to make it comfortable for them—and sunk further down into the water.

I stripped my clothes off, folded them, and put them down onto a bigger section of the counter, a good distance away from the sink.

I sat down in the bathtub and began running medium-hot water. It burnt slightly at first, but it soon felt unsatisfyingly warm. I dipped my chin into the water, and reminded myself it wasn't actually warm. It was because the rest of my body was simply accustomed to the heat already. The cuts on my wrists—which were now dark red scabs—stung and felt the most slightest bit tingly. I just ignored the feeling. It wasn't like there was much to stop the feeling. I simply had to adjust to the feeling, as my body did with the hot water. I wonder what Gold would've thought if he saw my cuts? He probaly would've—wait, why in the name of Arceus was I thinking about that perverted jerk?

I dunked my head completely into the hot water, trying to wash out all thoughts about Gold out of my head. I stayed like that until I had to (reluctantly) force my head out of the water to breathe. By the least, my plan absolutely did not work. It made me seriously mad—first Gold appeared _everywhere_ I went... _now_, he even invaded the most private place I can even have: my head! That perverted, dimwitted, stupified imbecile... wait till I got my hands on him... No, he was my study partner. Plus, Violet and the rest of his idiotic fangirls would have my head. Just like something it talked about on the news channel this morning. Something about this really faraway region—much, much, _much_ further than Unova—called North America, in a place called Vancouver in Canada... Apparently their hockey team, the Canucks, lost the finals game for the trophie, the Stanley Cup. After that, everything in the downtown of Vancouver was pure chaos. Glass broken, people hurt, police beaten up, cars flipped and two police cars on fire, not to mention much more. By the least, I was glad Gold's fans were not that bad... I hope.

I sighed, and rised out. I emptied the bathtub, dried myself with a towel, and changed into a fresh pair of clothes which I picked up earlier. A comfortable, loose-fitting pair of sweatpants and a white T-shirt. I took my Poke Balls out of the sink, and emptied that as well too. By the time I finished everything, my mom called, "Dinnertime, Cryssie!"

"So," Mom started, twirling her spaghetti with her fork, "anything particularly interesting happen today?"

"Not really," I mumbled, stuffing a sauce-covered meatball into my mouth. "The usual. Violet hates me. A little bit of homework."

"Ah." She nodded, pretending to understand. "I still don't get why Violet dislikes you so much. The little sweetheart and you were such good friends not too long ago, too. Say, did you say anything?"

"_Mom!_ I told you already, I never said anything bad or insulting to her. She just wrongly accused me of something I never did and then... well, started acting like my enemy," I said angrily. I ate the last bit of spaghetti on my plate and dumped my dinnerware in the sink. I went back to my room, leaving my mom shocked silent.

"I've never seen her so angry before..."

It was quite late already, so I just flossed and brushed my teeth, and went to sleep without changing. There wasn't much of a reason to change into my pyjamas if my sweatpants and T-shirt was more comfortable. For some reason, I had a feeling in my gut that tomorrow, something ridiculously bad was going to happen at school. And I was going to be in the spotlight.

_Of course not, Crystal_, I told myself, _you didn't do anything wrong. What's the worst that could happen?_

Apparently the worst thing was quite disastrous. Oh how much I hate rumours and gossip and all that cock and bull people made up these days, just to cover up the truth.

* * *

So, what'd ya'll think? By the way, the thing about downtown Vancouver in chaos is pretty damn true. I know 'cause I live somewhere near there, and boy, it is NOT by the least pretty. It's even worse than grotesque and damn ugly by a longshot. It'll probaly be safe to visit there on Monday... only to see hell. Broken glass in shops. Garbage cans on fire. And those whatchamacallits—oh yeah—molotov cocktails were used too. Scary, huh? And an old man fell down and was stepped on during the... riot.

Btw, I'm still on a hiatus. I just felt like updating this 'cause I don't want to neglect my fan fictions for too long... and this one's kinda puny.


	4. Childhood Memories

"Thank Arceus it's the weekends," I muttered breathlessly as I skillfully made my way through the heavy crowd, towards the school gates. It was a pleasant surprise that I somehow managed to avoid any of the nasty tricks people had tried to do. Such as tripping me.

"I agree there, Crys," Gold said, grinning. "I'm surprised you didn't trip, considering how clumsy you were with your feet back there."

"That wasn't me," I muttered, annoyed. Then, I added, inaudibly, "That was Violet's followers trying to humiliate me."

"Hm? What was that, Crys? You love me? Well, I love you too!"

"In your dreams, Gold." I sidestepped away from his glomp, leaving him to hug the cold cement ground.

"Aww, why so cruel, Crys?" he asked, giving me baby growlithe eyes.

"Those _things_ don't work on me," I reminded him, slightly annoyed. "You might want to stop that too, you look like you're glittering under the sun with those teary eyes."

The effect was immediate. "What!" he yelled, quickly standing and catching up with me. "Arceus... dignity...my... ruined..." was all I heard between his inconsistent muttering.

Clearly, he was _not _a very big fan of sparkly vampires that played baseball in the sun; now that I thought about it, no one except Violet and her followers liked the _Twilight_ novels at all. And I wasn't too surprised.

"This is ridiculous," I told him. "You passed the turn to your house ten minutes ago." To prove my point, I motioned at my watch, which had the numbers clearly printed in its digital numerals: _3:45 P.M._ We were released from school at 3 o'clock, meaning that fifteen minutes passed (for those who are mathematically challenged in the crowd).

"Aww, but Crys..." he moaned sadly, turning on the baby growlithe eyes again. "I'm a poor, defenseless boy. Can't I hang out with you? At all?"

"'Poor defenseless boy' my jolly arse," I promptly responded, "you have at least six different fan clubs in our school, full of girls and even a few _guys_! You have a good variety of choices of people to hang out with just with that. I apparently cannot compare to them, so you may as well hang out with them rather me."

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly. By now, he was right beside me.

Gold wrapped an arm around my shoulders (which I had to refrain myself from shrugging off) and stopped me from my stroll.

"What are you doing, Gold?" I asked impatiently, not at least bothered by some of the looks passers-by gave us, some even commenting on us looking like a cute couple. "I have to get home early today... so do you mind?"

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, completely ignoring what I said, "What are you talking about, Crys? You're the only girl I can even _imagine_ thinking of... and by the way, yes I do mind, in fact."

...

... I started blushing like crazy, my face most likely as red as a tamato berry.

...

... Then I started laughing.

His hot breath made my ear feel warmer, and it tickled so much that I couldn't hold my laughter. I had a weak tolerance from tickling, so that didn't help the situation any more. Had it not been for my dignity and pride, I probably would've been laughing/crying to death on the ground, but I managed to remain standing whilst having a small giggling fit.

It was at least _somewhat_ better than laughing like a madwoman...

"W-what?" It was Gold's turn to start blushing, albeit not as much.

I quickly recovered from my fit of laughter and explained between labored breaths, "T-that... tickled... my ear... is... ticklish!"

He was slightly dumbfounded for a moment. Predicting what he would do next after he digested the information, I rapidly ran away from him, gathering my things in prime time. I could hear a faint, mischievous, "Hey, wait for me!", but I didn't bother to turn back.

I got home in good time, a few minutes earlier than I usually got home due to my sprint from Gold (I lost him within seconds, much to his dismay, judging from his yelling).

_That was the most fun I've had in a long time_, I thought, smiling slightly as I put away my things. _Probably the most since_―

Memories of the recent events that happened clouded over my mind. I shut my eyes and sharply shook my head to get rid of the images. This type of thing didn't happen often, but when it did, it was never welcome. I snapped open my eyes and looked around, reassuring myself (rather unneededly, at that) of no such things happening at the moment.

"I need a bath," I told myself silently, "perhaps that will bring my mind back to ease."

Not that showers didn't put my mind to ease―I simply preferred baths more as they were more relaxing and I enjoyed the silky smoothness of the water―it simply felt better being encased by water rather then pelted with thin streams (although it _did_ make a good massage...).

I opened the bathroom cupboard and scanned through the various boxes of bath solutions. They all had the same healing properties, but I enjoyed the scents more than anything.

"Hmm... cherry blossoms, Lavaridge Springs, oranberry... Ah, perfect." I grabbed a packet of _Fruity Florals_ scent. My favourite one, and it seemed perfect for the occasion: it would sweeten up my mind just fine. I shut the rest of the boxes, taking my time to do so. By the time I was done, the boxes looked like they weren't even opened just moments ago. I was proud to say that I kept them in mint condition.

As I shut the cabinet door, I noticed a glint coming from a pocket knife, hidden from normal view. Unconsciously, I picked it up and looked at the sharp blade... Something about it felt so inviting. I thought of how it felt when I cut my wrist, how it was still healing.

It hurt, obviously. When I cut it before, it stung. But at the same time, it gave me a wave of comfort. It felt like I was in another world of bliss and ignorance, even if it was just for a small moment. I felt like I had truly escaped this world and entered another one of complete happiness, just for a moment.

It was an addictive feeling... It was a feeling that one could not help but want more of. It was similar to why people took drugs, it just felt so good for a moment.

I realized only seconds later from the stinging pain on the skin of my wrists that I had cut myself... _again_. I let out an inaudible string of profanities that I didn't even know I knew and mentally hit myself for such a thing. I reopened the cupboard and grabbed the first-aid kit.

After securely disinfecting the wounds and wrapping them with gauze, I decided that I would be better off without the bath mixture. Arceus-knows what would happen if some of the stuff leaked into the cuts with the water. Waving off any further thoughts, I lowered myself into the water (careful to keep my wrists out of the hot liquid) and silently enjoyed it, closing my eyes. Soon enough, I grew accustomed to the distinct stinging in my wrists and forgot about them.

Absentmindedly, I started thinking about all my friends. _Julia's been my friend since... oh, I don't know... for a long time. So has Violet... _I briefly remembered a time where Violet saved me from a bunch of bullies, the start of our friendship. I quickly waved that off, deeming it nothing but an empty thought altogether now. However, I couldn't help but remember that memory; it was so clear and fresh, it were as if it just happened yesterday.

_It was after kindergarten classes were over, and I was heading towards the forest for my daily aiming practices. I was abruptly stopped by a question asked._

"_Excuse me, are you Crystal Clearwater?" an adult asked me, her face showing an expression that could only be described as tested patience and held-back rage._

"_Yes, miss," I responded as politely as I could for a kindergartener. I put on a pleasant smile―I was much more comfortable talking to adults than those my age. "Is there anything you need?"_

_She seemed taken aback by my politeness, but I didn't find it all that surprising. One of the first things taught to me was manners by my dad, telling me that it was one of the most important things in life. While the general concept was agreeable, I thought it was an odd thing: wouldn't sincerity and happiness be much more likeable? But dad's always right, so I shall follow his teachings, I thought naively. _

"_Er―actually, yes, I do in fact need something," she said, returning back to her previous personality. "My son here―" she gestured at the boy next to her, and I recognized him as Alexander Redstone "―says that you pushed him yesterday? Is that true? And don't lie, because I checked and he does indeed have bruises and scratches from the fall!"_

_Her words turned harsher and more strict after every word. I remained unfazed, but my smile slowly disappeared into a emotionless line. I learnt that it was better to explain things like this, rather smiling, for many people often lied as they smiled. _

"_Ma'am," I slowly said, testing out the word experimentally, "I indeed pushed your son yesterday, but―"_

"_That's it!" she said strictly. She reached forward and was about to slap me; I flinched. _

_I didn't feel any slap, nor did I hear anything. _

"_Ms. Alexander's mom, please hear Crystal out! She didn't do anything wrong. In fact, she pushed him so he was out of harm's way!" _

_I opened my eyes, and was surprised to find that one of my classmates, Violet, was standing protectively in front of me. She had grabbed the woman's wrist so that it didn't hit her or me. _

_I really was surprised, and somewhat shocked. I mean, really―Violet, the class's most popular and prettiest girl, standing up to a grownup for me, the classroom 'nerd'. It was a thought that I would've never thought of._

"_Well? Enlighten me." The woman took her wrist back, tapping her foot for an explanation. _

_Alexander sheepishly looked at me, as if apologizing. I couldn't blame him―he didn't exactly know what happened other than the fact that I pushed him, as he was knocked out immediately._

"_Er―well, I pushed your son because there was a wild oddish behind him. He had stepped on one of its leaves by accident, and it was mad so it was ready to release Poison Powder, along with a Tackle, you see... So I had to quickly push him out of the way, for that was the only way at that moment to save him..." I explained as reasonably as I could, stumbling with some words. I had a great vocabulary, and it troubled some of my classmates, making them think me as a showoff. But I still had some trouble piecing my sentences together sometimes._

"_I-is that the truth...?" the lady asked._

"_It is," confirmed Violet. "I saw it all, a lot of people did. We were all surprised that Crystal could act so quickly like that."_

_I almost gave an indignant snort, but held back. Instead, I gave her a grateful glance and started speaking, "And that's what happened... I'm sorry for the injuries you've recieved, though," I apologized to Alexander. "I didn't expect that your fall would have been so bad. But it's honestly better than being hit by Poison Powder and then Tackled. Believe me, I've experienced both numerous times, and, well... I've discovered it's much more pleasant falling."_

_Everyone gave me a questioning look, but laughed soon after. After that, we exchanged a few more words and Alexander's mom apologized for her "rudeness" and "unslightly example of grownupness" (if that was even a word). Then she thanked me, and they went on their way back home._

"_Thanks for explaining things," I said, turning to Violet. "Let me introduce myself properly: I'm Crystal Clearwater, it's great to meet you."_

_Violet turned and gave me a bright smile. Introducing herself, she then said, "We're going to be great friends from now on, right?"_

_I gave her a small smile back and responded, "Of course."_

"Some great friend she turned out to be," I said bitterly, lowering deeper into the water so that only my head (and my wrists) weren't submerged. "In the end, it was Julia who was the better friend. And she bullied me a few times before we were friends. Surprise, it's always the 'good one' who's the betrayer..."

It wasn't so surprising anymore, after finding out the true nature of Violet.

Sighing, I blew the water to make ripples. It felt calming to be able to relax like this.

"Before that, I didn't have any friends, now that I think about it..." I paused. No, that wasn't right; I _did_ have a friend before that―two, in fact. But I couldn't remember what they looked like or what their names were. Much less could I remember their genders...

_Hm... maybe I should look through some photo albums?_ I frowned. The thought of having to go through the many photo albums we had was a pain, and I didn't want to have another burst of memories go through my head. _So maybe I could ask mom instead?_

Once again, I frowned. I much more preferred going through the albums than asking her.

"Albums it is, I suppose." I sighed and got out of the tub, rather reluctantly. The sooner I was done, the better. I certainly didn't want mom to find out that I was looking through the albums. If she did, then she would proceed to tell me of how cute I looked as a baby.

Never a fun experience, that's all I can say. _Especially_ when I've heard it forty-five other times prior, in full detail.

After emptying the tub and rechecking my wrists (I put on my wristbands, of course), I got out of the washroom and went to the cabinet in the living room.

I can only say that I wished I didn't open it: there were dozens of dozens of albums in the thing, and Arceus-knows how they all managed to fit in there. I grabbed the ones with the Mickey Mouse patterns on the album cover; obviously, those albums were of my childhood. I didn't think that mom would put her own pictures in those albums.

... Actually, I didn't doubt that too much. But considering that they were the only ones of the childish type, I thought that they would contain my pictures, which I was proven right about.

As I flipped through the Mickey Mouse albums, my reaction varied: one moment I was blushing, another I was crying (for I was so embarrassed), another I was just nonchalant about... et cetera.

Most of the albums contained family photos and photos of me hanging out with Julia and Violet; they were all so happy. If someone told me that my life would've turned out the way it is at the moment just a few months ago, I wouldn't believe it. Not even if I were given all the things in the world would I believe it.

_But I can't change things anymore_, I thought sadly, putting away the first few albums that I scanned through. _I wish I could, though..._

Minutes passed as I went through the fiftyish albums of Mickey Mouse. Soon enough, those minutes turned to hours―I didn't care too much about the time anymore, though.

"These are all my baby and kindergarten years," I said aloud, quite frustrated as I finally finished the last album. "But what about the years between those ones? Where are they?"

"Cryssie, what are you searching for?"

_Great Arceus..._ I sweated as I turned around to face my mom. Her expression was curious, and I could tell that she would start telling stories if I didn't say something quick.

"Hey Mom," I said casually, putting away the albums neatly and shutting the cabinet. "I was just searching for my preschool album... Do you know where it is?" _Hopefully she won't rant on "old times" if I ask her about the preschool album..._

"Preschool album? Hm..." She pondered for a moment, and then snapped her fingers. "That's right! Your father took a few albums. If I remember correctly, one of them happened to be your preschool album. But why do you need it?"

"I was just curious," I responded. "I wanted to know who my friends were back then..."

This was getting a bit awkward for me. I felt like a bad person, to forget who my friends were in preschool.

"Your friends? Huh... now that I think about it..." She walked up the stairs to retrieve something and came back down with a small album, roughly the size of a small book. "Here, Cryssie~. These ones are from your preschool years, but just not _at_ the preschool. Is that good?"

"It's good, thanks mom," I said, taking it.

"No problem, Cryssie... I'm going to go prepare dinner now. I'll call you down later, 'kay?"

"All right." I went up to my room with the album, holding back the urge to dig through the album.

I plopped down onto my bed comfortably and opened the first page. It depicted a younger me謡earing a mauve pink tank top with a frilly white skirt and black knee-length leggings謡ith two other kids. Two _boys_, in fact. I flipped through the rest of the album, slowly realizing that the only pictures in here were those of me with the two boys or me and my family.

Examining the first picture more carefully (as that was easily the most distinguishable photo in the album), I slowly realized with a horror that one of the boys looked remarkably like Gold.

Arceus.

Someone shoot me.

Now, please.

Just then, the phone rang.

"Cryssie, can you please pick it up?" my mom called from downstairs.

"Okay!" I said, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Crystal... it's been a while. How are you?"

I didn't recognize the voice from the other end of the line. I felt that I should, but I didn't.

Tentatively, I asked, "Um... I'm sorry, but may I know who's calling?"

* * *

**Yesss! I'm alive peoplez! Except I've gotten sick. Twice in one month. Blech. Me and my lovely luck... **

**I really am sorry for my ridiculously slow updating, but I've literally been **_**bombarded**_** with all this homework. I'm even getting white hairs from lack of sleep! (And the lack of sleep actually is what is causing me to get sick... hahaha... orz;;;) I hope this chapter of **_**Transfer Student**_** was satisfactory enough for all your tastes (I rewrote this monster fifteen times in a row. Not joking)... **

**Here on out, the real plot begins (I might want to start brainstorming PROPERLY on paper now before I actually write it though... =_=).**


End file.
